1. Field of this Invention
This invention relates to a nutritious orange drink concentrate. This invention further relates to a protein reinforced or fortified nutritious orange drink concentrate which can be stored for long periods of time by freezing without any substantial lose of its efficacy. This invention also relates to a process of making such a nutritious orange drink concentrate. This invention still further relates to a nutritious orange drink prepared from such a nutritious orange drink concentrate.
2. Prior Art
The prior art involves various drinks available in various forms. Some are in dry form and the purchaser reconstitutes them with water. Some are in the form of a frozen concentrate and the purchaser also reconstitutes them with water. Others are ready to serve, that is, the purchaser buys them in a form ready to serve (they may have to be refrigerated for storage).
Orange juice contains acid which curdles and coagulates milk, so there have been many unsuccessful and unsatisfactory attempts to incorporate the protein and other beneficial ingredients of milk into orange juice (or vice versa). For example, the use of fermented milk causes flavor problems and coagulation problems. A number of processes have attempted to avoid the problem by using whey, but other problems have arisen. The prior art only discloses single-strength beverages in this area.
The products which have been produced under prior art teachings are far from palatable, in many cases have lost essential vitamins during the processes employed, and are sufficiently devoid of "lasting" characteristics so as to deteriorate rapidly, in the absence of consumption substantially immediately following preparation, so as to become valueless with respect to platability and also nutritional values.
It is known to make orange-flavored beverages through the use of flavoring materials such as the oil recovered from the skins of oranges, sugars, citric acid and similar ingredients. While beverages sufficiently platable to attain commercial success have been made in this way, the beverages themselves have a highly artificial flavor.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,195 teaches a protein-enriched acidic orange juice which involves a dispersion of a blend water-soluble egg yoke and a water-soluble naturally-occurring protein (casein, milk, protein or soy protein). The juice has a pH of 3.5 to 4.5 -- the egg yolk is necessary to keep the protein (casein) from precipitating. That patent teaches that an acid, such as, citric acid, can be added and that ferric citrate can be added. The patent uses spray dried whey.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,923,628 discloses a synthetic unsaturated fatty acid milk which contains water, whey protein, fat, lactose and salts. That patent does not disclose the use of orange juice in any form. That patent teaches the addition of lactic acid to obtain a drink having a pH of 6 to 6.5 or a butter having a pH of 4 to 4.5.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,398 teaches a process of making a clear, dairy-product beverage. The product contains lactoglobulins of whey, inorganic salts, milk sugar, phosphorus and vitamins. That patent teaches the process of treating whey with enough citric acid to acidify the whey, treating the whey with tannic acid, separating out the precipitated gelatinous albuminous substances and recovering the liquid product. That patent does not teach the adding of orange juice concentrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,702 teaches pasteurizing and acidifying skimmed fresh milk, adding the milk to an aqueous solution of citric acid and flavoring, adding a mixture of pectin and sugar and homogenizing the mixture. That patent teaches that an orange paste can be initially admixed with the milk.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,669,678 discloses a solid composition of whey solids and comminuted sesame. The composition can be used in beverages.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,326 teaches a beverage mix which contains egg albumen, concentrated whey, sweetener (e.g., sugar or sucrose), color (e.g. orange), flavor (e.g., orange) and food acid (e.g., citric acid). The beverage mix has a pH of 2.5 to 4.6; the whey is used to inhibit or eliminate the taste and odor of the egg albumen; and the egg albumen to inhibit the flavor of the whey. Large amounts of egg albumen are used. The beverage mix can be reconstituted by the addition of water. That patent does not teach using orange juice concentrate. U.S. Pat. No. 3,736,150 teaches a beverage mix which is similar to that U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,326, except that an amino acid is used and whey is not used.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,710 discloses a fruit drink containing concentrated orange juice containing pulp material, fermented or acidified milk, sugar, flavoring agents and coloring agents. Citric acid can be used.
Several earlier U.S. patents refer to the use of whey in orange juice. U.S. Pat. No. 2,282,801 treats fruits and vegetables with whey to stabilize them against oxidation. Orange juice is not mentioned. U.S. Pat. No. 2,391,559 dissolves dried whey in an aqueous alkaline solution, neutralizes it with citric acid, adds the resulting material to orange juice and adds sugar to produce a foaming beverage. That patent, however, fails to, for example disclose specifically the use of orange pulp base or the use of an acid pH. U.S. Pat. No. 1,759,706 uses whey to precipitate oils from orange juice and thus provides a beverage free of the oils and albuminoids which is useful, for example, in the treatment of obesity.
General Foods Corporation marketed a beverage mix under the trade name Instant Replay, which had the following ingredients: sugar, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, calcium phosphate, monosodium phosphate, sodium citrate, calcium lactate, potassium chloride, gum arabic, Vitamin C, hydrogenated vegetable oil, magnesium sulphate, artificial color, and BHA.
Natural orange juice has a sugar-acid ratio that is generally between 11.1 and 7:1.
Attention is drawn to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,858,221, 2,890,961, 3,114,641, 3,647,475, 3,657,424, 3,041,180, 3,397,063, 3,525,624, 3,705,039, 3,728,132, 2,818,342, 2,834,679, 2,853,386, 2,859,115, 2,924,531, 3,118,769, 3,174,865, 3,647,476, 3,692,532, 2,224,252, 1,925,441, 2,055,782, 2,400,460, 1,885,401, 2,650,880, 2,367,131, 3,660,115, 3,672,917 and 3,715,216.